Dan Carlin's Hardcore History: Show 50 - Blueprint for Armageddon I
March 2, 2015 5:54 PM - Subscribe

The planet hadn't seen a major war between all the Great Powers since the downfall of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. But 99 years later the dam breaks and a Pandora's Box of violence engulfs the planet.
posted by the man of twists and turns (8 comments total)
 
I'm really enjoying this current series. I forget what point we got to in this first episode (does fighting break out, I don't remember) but I love that Carlin, for all that he's interested in the tactics of it all, doesn't let us forget the horror that people had to face day to day in this conflict. This first episode is quite sympathetic to Germany, or at least comes across that way: the plan being something that is necessary for Germany, on the assumption that there always was going to be war. Of course, thats quite a circular assumption for Germany to have when they were always going to provoke war in the first place!
posted by Cannon Fodder at 11:47 PM on March 2, 2015


Probably the best podcast on WWI that I've come across. I love Carlin in this series so much that I'm afraid to listen to his other podcast in fear that it will ruin these for me.
posted by entropicamericana at 8:28 AM on March 3, 2015


I really liked this string of episodes. Carlin references the chaos avoidance model of conspiracy theorizing.

WWI has always fascinated me. And I think Carlin is right, in that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand set the stage for the 20th century as we know it. But there would have been other, as terrible wars and events, nevertheless. The world was ready for it - we can see it foreshadowed in, for example, the Russo-Japanese War, the Boer War, the United States Civil War.

Something was going to go wrong.

The history and development of fortifications has fascinated me, ever since I played in Third System (and coastal defense) forts as a kid. Carlin's sense of awe at the sheer firepower the Germans brought to bear at Liege is exactly what is required. THe height of defensive technology (though beset by weaknesses now ovious in hindsight) when they were built, none could stand against Big Bertha and her sisters.

There was a great post about Leuven, specifically.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:58 PM on March 9, 2015






I especially love the way that Carlin tells the story of the assassination. His telling of it highlights his skill as a raconteur extraordinaire.
posted by double block and bleed at 6:16 PM on May 8, 2015




Yeah I saw that thread, not sure how to take it really. I've sort of known that he plays fast and loose with the facts a little, but he does often lead off with a "this is probably not true" which he didn't really do before this one. It... doesn't matter that much. Like, in the broad grand sweep of history the precise details of how the Archduke met his end really doesn't matter, but it is quite sloppy.
posted by Cannon Fodder at 10:50 AM on December 4, 2015


« Older Last Week Tonight with John Ol...   |  Treme: Meet De Boys on the Bat... Newer »

You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments